U.S. Senate Unanimously Passes Bill To Make Animal Cruelty A Felony

The U.S. Senate has passed a bill making certain types of animal cruelty a federal felony. The Senate unanimously passed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, which criminalizes certain acts of animal cruelty.

The bipartisan bill will now be sent to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature. If the president signs it, it will become a federal law. The bill is an expansion on the 2010 Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act, which made the creation and distribution of “animal crushing” videos illegal. The underlying acts, which were not included in the 2010 bill, are part of the PACT Act.

It would make it a federal crime for “any person to intentionally engage in animal crushing if the animals or animal crushing is in, substantially affects, or uses a means or facility of, interstate or foreign commerce,” according to a fact sheet of the bill.